


A Different Kind of Imaginary

by lunarsanctum



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anbu Hatake Kakashi, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-13 21:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18949099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarsanctum/pseuds/lunarsanctum
Summary: Iruka had been put into an asylum by his parents due to an imaginary friend he had since he was young, named Kakashi. Last he expected after 10 years that Kakashi would be breaking him out, and he was the name in a prophecy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I picked up a prompt from reddit and decided to write about it. I am writing this for myself, so if you don't like it that is okay. I am open to critique, I did write this at night though so it's probably sloppy.

  
The last thing Iruka had expected during his bizarre time in the asylum was Kakashi, the imaginary friend that everyone swore that he was. Iruka had known that there was no way that was the case and that sometime Kakashi was going to come for him. It had taken longer than Iruka had wanted that was for sure, looking back at the previous ten years.

It had started when he was around four when he began to come across Kakashi, a person who always disappeared without a second to spare whenever others came along. Spoke in a way that only Iruka could understand or hear. It often made Iruka frustrated as all he wanted to do was save his family, but they soon rejected him and when Kakashi finally arrived and Iruka saw the bodies of the guards.

It was all much too late for his family now.

“You finally decided to show your face?”

  
“I did tell you to keep quiet; you certainly made it hard to get you out considering.” Kakashi expressed, his arms crossed over his chest as the fox mask he wore covered his face tilted in disappointment. The two of them were the same age; it was easy to tell from their stature. Since Iruka had been in the asylum at the young age of twelve.

  
“Easier said than done; you have no one to keep alive as I do.”

  
“Well, neither do you now, so no more worries about it.” Iruka fell into silence upon Kakashi replying in such an apathetic way, realizing what he meant. His heart already was beating heavy with despair, his eyes welling up with tears despite not seeing his family in years.

“I wish they had listened so badly,” Iruka muttered softly clenching his fists and falling to his knees, he could feel Kakashi staring at him, but he honestly could care less.

  
“I told you they wouldn’t.”

  
“I know you did, can you just shut the fuck up?” Iruka barked for a moment; only feeling bad as he realized that they weren’t precisely safe considering there were dead guards outside the door. He got up off the ground, looking at Kakashi again who had stolen clothes off the guards to give to Iruka which were luckily not bloodstained somehow.

  
“Here, something you can use. We gotta get out of here soon.” Kakashi didn’t understand the meaning of privacy as he watched Iruka as he got changed. Iruka was blushing from the stare.

  
“Can you please stop watching me for one minute?”

  
“Alright, not sure why, though.” Kakashi did listen, turning away as told. Iruka found himself growing curious about the situation, the destiny and also Kakashi’s origin and purpose. There had to be more to this situation than Iruka had ever gotten told, and a lot of it had been lost to memory through attempts in the asylum to forget.

They had left the asylum quite suddenly with Kakashi, silently leading the way to wherever they were going. Iruka wanted to ask, but he could tell by Kakashi’s posture that he wasn’t in the mood to be asked any more questions.

  
“We are going to be travelling to a safe house, and there your questions will be answered.” As if the man could read Iruka’s mind, Kakashi gave him some idea of what was going on. Iruka was at least thankful for that, following behind Kakashi had grown boring and worrying for the most part. Even if most of it meant seeing things that he hadn’t seen in a long time due to his isolation, it was nearly winter.

  
The whole town was deserted, bodies were all they found left of the inhabitants, there was no blood other than the guards that were outside his room which Iruka was sure that Kakashi killed.

“I-” Iruka went to speak, but Kakashi looked back at him with a glare of warning, resulting in him closing his mouth again to keep his thoughts to himself. I never saw this kind of murder before; there is nothing outward that would suggest that they are dead. What is this?

“Are you going to explain anything at all before we arrive?”

  
“No, I told you my decision; nothing is going to change that. I am not the one who is going to tell you.”

  
“But you did before.”

  
“Iruka.” Kakashi stopped rather suddenly, swinging around to stand in front of Iruka and nearly making him crash into him. His face was showing how much he wasn’t ready for the interaction. “I may have told you things before, but things have changed since then. I can’t just tell you more; it has gotten more. Complicated, alright?”

Iruka couldn’t argue with that; he nodded with a sigh as he realized that this wouldn’t exactly help him as it was clear that Kakashi didn’t know much more than he did. Kakashi seemed different after the confrontation, moving back into his walk. He looked defeated in regards to the conversation that they had. Iruka knew that he couldn’t quite put his finger on the behaviour as the previous interactions with him had been uncomfortable.

Kakashi was not used to society, and that was very clear even without the assistance of facial expressions. They soon arrived at a mountain that had faces carved into the side; a round building was where Kakashi brought him. Once they had gone inside the place, he was carried away from what looked like the main halls to a more isolated area.

“It will be a couple more minutes; we are nearly there,” Kakashi told him, Iruka nodding with uncertainty as they grew closer to the destination. Iruka was brought into a room that was long rather than wide, with a table in the middle.

  
“Sit down; we will be visited soon.” Kakashi pointed to one of the cushions on the floor, another one beside it across from a chair. Iruka bit back his want to ask; he could tell that Kakashi wasn’t going to take any more questions and Iruka had already gotten enough shit for pushing back before. He kneeled, getting comfortable despite everything in his body wanted to run.

It was bizarre to him, Kakashi finally coming for him and then giving him no help whatsoever in understanding why or what was going on. Kakashi sat down on the cushion beside him, bowing his head as he waited in silence. Soon the door slid open, an older adult coming over and going to sit in the chair was seemed reserved for the man.

“Kakashi, I thank you for your expert work as always.” Kakashi nodded and bowed in response to the man’s word, but didn’t speak.

  
“Sensei, why am I here?” Iruka asked, really wishing for an answer at this point since he had been unsuccessful in trying to receive one from his imaginary friend, Kakashi.

“I do apologize, Iruka. I didn’t wish to give you the impression that I was ignoring you; we brought you here for a reason. I promise you that. You can call me, Lord Hokage.” The older man apologized, Iruka felt like he was supposed to know, but that wasn’t the case. Luckily, Lord Hokage continued. “Ever since you were a child, Kakashi was assigned to look further into your abilities. You were destined to become the next Hokage, and it is also in your blood.”

“Wait, wait. No disrespect, Lord Hokage, but surely you got to be messing with me. After all, I-” Then things slowly started to come together in Iruka’s mind, things came up that he swore never happened. It wasn’t the first time he had lost his parents; he had lost parents before. The flashbacks were ruthless, causing him to put his hands in his hair as he choked back tears.

_“You are going to make a very wonderful Hokage, Iruka. Even if you are far from here, I know that you would never abandon this village.” Iruka looked up at his dad, who wore similar clothing to that of the Lord Hokage._

_His dad put his hand on Iruka’s head before the flashback was interrupted a slash across his dad’s throat. The blood showered and the sky turned dark, transitioning to him being underneath his dad and his mother. They had shielded him, dying over-top of him, crushing him slightly, but keeping him safe._

“We were told to find you once the time was right, we knew that if another war was to break out, that we would require someone from your bloodline even if you are untrained.” Lord Hokage continued as he noticed that Iruka had returned from his flashback, wiping his tears away to bring his attention back to Lord Hokage.

  
“Kakashi has been training you since you were young, even if you didn’t realize it. He will be in charge of you, even though he is the same age as you, he had much to teach.” Lord Hokage looked at Iruka, who fell into absolute silence at that point. Unsure of how to take all this information, he felt sick and faintish.

“Kakashi, bring Iruka to his new room and give him proper clothes. He needs some rest that I can tell. Don’t let him leave the building; it isn’t safe out there as of right now.”

Kakashi nodded as he was given orders, getting to his feet and holding out his hand to help Iruka to his feet. Iruka stumbling from tears messing with his vision, he wiped away the remains.

The rest of it all put him in a daze, getting dressed in his new clothes and climbing into bed. For some reason, he wished he was back at the asylum where things weren’t as painful as the memories that he remembered now.


	2. Chapter 2

Iruka hardly slept that day, it hadn't even been late when he was allowed to sleep, but it didn't seem that affect Lord Hokage's decision to let him sleep. After all, it seemed that the Hokage understood the situation and how Iruka felt, or at least more in comparison to Kakashi. When he had finally woken up from his teary rest, he looked over to see Kakashi waiting patiently.

 _Is he waiting for me? Did he sleep?_ Iruka thought to himself, slightly confused about his friend even though he wasn't sure what Kakashi ever was to him. He didn't have the energy to call him anything else, and it didn't look like Kakashi was looking for friendship in this point of his life. Which, internally bummed Iruka out since he had honestly missed Kakashi's companionship while he was in the asylum.

"How long did I sleep?" Iruka asked, Kakashi stirred suddenly and then Iruka could tell that he had seemed to nod off in a very light slumber.

"About two hours, not too long. If you wish, we can get to training, or get you some food." Kakashi answered, fiddling with things around him as he waited on a response. Iruka couldn't tell where Kakashi was looking, but he was relatively used to it since Kakashi had always worn that mask around him. Iruka felt curious about what he looked like underneath it.

"Uh, food first would be good, I mean, surely you're hungry," Iruka commented, giving a smile to Kakashi, who got up and left the room as a way of telling Iruka to get dressed. Iruka's smile was fading as he got into the new clothes that were provided, much comfier than the guards, and also the clothes provided at the asylum. He then remembered that Kakashi left him in the room, Iruka wasn't sure how much he could get used to having a bodyguard in what he used to call an imaginary friend.

"I'm ready; what were you thinking for food?" Iruka hopelessly looked for a conversation with Kakashi, who brushed it off with ease.

"It is your choice, considering you will be the one eating." He responded, leading the way like previously since Iruka had no idea where he was going. He really couldn't help wanting to make conversation, considering this was the first time he was able to go around and talk to people who didn't think he was insane. The cold reception didn't help.

"Your best ramen, please," Iruka asked when they had arrived at a relatively small shop in the village that looked like it had seen better days. He glanced over to Kakashi. "Make that two bowls."

Iruka could tell that Kakashi was unamused by the offer, and the two of them had to bring it back to the place as they weren't to be out for long. Kakashi was treating the second serving as Iruka's despite his apparent tries to get Kakashi to have it instead.

"You should eat, I mean, how can you do your job if you don't eat?" Iruka decided to ask as he ate once they got back, Kakashi letting out a sigh.

"You aren't going to let this go, are you? I have my own food."

"But you haven't-" Kakashi showed a tiny food pellet, before putting it away and tilting his head at Iruka.

"Is that enough proof for you?" He asked, adjusting in his spot to watch his surroundings easier. Iruka yet again, having no choice but giving up on yet another futile attempt. Maybe training would bring something out of Kakashi; he hoped as he needed more out of this experience than Kakashi breaking every effort of conversation.

Iruka slowed with his food intake as he wasn't quite able to finish it all, he could finish one serving, but the second serving that Iruka hadn't been ready for since Kakashi wasn't budging on that he had no choice in the matter either.

"If you are done, we should probably start." Kakashi saw that Iruka was finished, getting up from his spot to put the stuff together so that it could be easily cleaned.

"On one condition, lose the mask." Iruka crossed his arms, Kakashi just stared at him before answering.

"No."

"But I know you, so does it matter?" Iruka said in rebuttal.

"That isn't the point."

"Then what exactly is the point? It isn't like someone is out to kill me; I don't even know why you are my bodyguard."

"You are being hunted, so if you would mind. I would like if we listened to Lord Hokage's orders." Kakashi ended the conversation rather harshly, Iruka growled under his breath, but the confirmation of the fact he was targeted worried him. _Why would anyone want him of all people? He wasn't anything special._

Kakashi led the way out into an outdoor courtyard that was sheltered by the building and the mountain that towered above, obviously one that was meant to keep those training in there as safe as possible.

"How much do you remember from ten years ago?" He asked as he put himself into a ready stance.

"Can't quite say."

"Guess we will have to test that then. Alright, come at me and try to unbalance me." Kakashi gave Iruka the order; Iruka was still determined to get something out of it.

"How about, each time I knock you down, you answer a question?" Iruka readied himself, matching Kakashi's stance as he waited for a response.

"Alright, I understand that you are confused, so yes, I accept those terms." Iruka chuckled and smiled when Kakashi finally agreed to something.

It would have been nice if Iruka had managed to knock the ANBU to the ground, yet it didn't happen. The time of the day progressed without any luck. He continued to try till the sunset when Kakashi was going to stop, Iruka took the opportunity to sweep his legs out from underneath him. Kakashi got his feet on the ground before he ended up stumbling and falling to the ground.

"Alright, I guess I will give you that. You saw my weakness. What's your question?" Kakashi got himself onto his feet, Iruka breathing heavily from the long training session.

"Who is hunting me?” Iruka said between breaths as he started to slow his heartbeat, it had indeed been exhausting.

“For that question, let’s get inside and back to your room. Then I’ll answer.” At first, it sounded like Kakashi wasn’t going to answer his question or didn’t want to answer. Iruka knew that it was probably best they said this in seclusion than out in the open, so he followed Kakashi as he always did.

“One of the legendary Senin, Orochimaru. He has been looking for you for a long time now; if it hadn’t been for you being in the asylum, then he probably would have.” Kakashi explained once he had closed the room door behind him. He lifted his mask slightly to rub his eyes before going to sit beside Iruka, who had taken a position on the bed.

Iruka couldn’t help feeling more confused, but he knew that he couldn’t ask any more questions, he would have to wait for the bet to continue tomorrow.

“Thanks, Kakashi, I appreciate that you answered my question,” Iruka said, despite the extreme want to ask more, there had to be more right?

“I keep my promises; now get some rest. We have more to do tomorrow.” Iruka nodded, Kakashi turning away to let him get into comfier clothes and climb into the bed.

“Alright, goodnight, Kakashi.”

“Goodnight, Iruka.”


	3. Chapter 3

Iruka tossed and turned in his sleep; nightmares were starting to grasp ahold of him, coming from the flashbacks earlier. Something brought him out of it, and he saw Kakashi's masked face over him.

"I was guessing that you didn't want to be stuck in that any longer." He said, moving off to the side, so he wasn't above Iruka. Iruka had gasped as he woke up, trying to calm his breathing.

  
"Thank you," Iruka told Kakashi, who nodded in reply, it looked like Kakashi was getting more tired. Surely there was another person who could guard him while Kakashi rests, right? At least, Iruka hoped that Kakashi would get some rest.

Iruka pushed himself up into a sitting position and let out a sigh, putting his head in his hands. He wished Kakashi would talk to him like a friend, but maybe that time was going to be never. After a couple of minutes trying to regaining his composure, he looked back over to Kakashi, who had taken his guard yet again. He could tell from the sway that Kakashi was unintentionally doing, that it wouldn't be long before the man passed out from exhaustion.

"Shouldn't you get some rest? I mean, no one will know." Iruka suggested, unsatisfied with Kakashi's care of himself. It looked like Kakashi had hardly noticed, regarding how late it took him to respond to the suggestion.

"You know that I can't do that," Kakashi answered quietly.

"Then, find someone who can."

"Over my dead body."

"You are honestly really stubborn; you are going to pass out," Iruka growled, but let them fall back into silence again.

Iruka knew that there was no way he would be able to go back to sleep, nightmares would be more than ready to apply themselves to him as soon as he let that happen. So, he was left feeling guilty about Kakashi's condition; after all, he was keeping Iruka safe.

It didn't last long though, as the sway got worse and he saw Kakashi start to fall. Iruka got up from his spot, quickly pulling Kakashi into his arms. _Sorry, but I got to check._ He apologized as he took off Kakashi's mask, putting his hand over his forehead and feeling how weak Kakashi was.

"How long have you been up?" Iruka asked, mainly towards himself since it was apparent that Kakashi wasn't going to answer. Luckily, it seemed that someone had heard, coming inside was another person with a mask just like Kakashi.

"What happened?" The unnamed man asked, bending down beside them both as Iruka put Kakashi's mask back over his face.

"He passed out from exhaustion, or so I am guessing." The ANBU nodded, his hand starting to glow with green as he held it over Kakashi.

"I'll take him, but first, stay here, and I will bring someone to watch you in the meantime." Iruka nodded, just wanting Kakashi to get the help he needed.

The ANBU left, but brought another with him soon after, taking Kakashi and leaving him with the new ANBU who had black hair behind the mask.

"I'm Iruka Umino, and you are?" Iruka held out his hand to the younger man, who ignored the gesture.

"Itachi Uchiha, but you won't call me that ever." The ANBU explained, Iruka just nodded, already telling that the cold reception seemed typical between them. They weren't much different than each other, but at least Kakashi was somewhat understanding. Iruka went back to his bed, grabbing a book from the bookshelf in the room since he wasn't going to be getting back to sleep.

 

The stare from Itachi didn't lessen at any point; Iruka could feel it even strengthening sometimes, which only caused him more uncomfortable. They took guarding to a whole new level, and at least Kakashi didn't do it with what felt like being stared through. Iruka then heard the floor creak; it caused his body to stiffen; noticing that a sword was pressed against his throat. The ANBU that was supposed to be protecting him was now behind him, holding a sword to his neck.

"I got my orders; I am sure you would understand." Iruka quickly made a substitute; he looked for something to arm himself with as soon as he was free. Nothing was around him, and it looked like he was going to have to handle it with bare fists and Jutsu. He used the serpent hand seal, using one of the only Genjutsus he knew.

It encased Itachi with leaves, and that was when Iruka knew he had to get out of this situation as soon as possible. He ran out of the room, knowing he had to stay inside the building if he were to stand a chance. Where were the other ANBU when he needed them?

A puff of smoke signalled that Iruka hadn't gotten far enough away, he got pushed against the wall.   
"Enough of your games," Itachi said, Iruka lifted one of his legs to kick Itachi in the chest away from him. Itachi throwing shuriken at him, Iruka braced himself, but that was when a familiar white-haired ANBU intercepted the fight as well as the shuriken. Kakashi breathed heavily from apparent exhaustion, but he wasn't alone soon enough as other ANBU promptly arrived from Kakashi's disappearance is what Iruka guessed. Itachi was immediately trying to escape the situation, which caused Iruka to be left with Kakashi. Kakashi slumped his shoulders, before looking over to Iruka,

"I have to say, I'm impressed. Lasting that long against him of all people, I thought I would see you in rougher shape." Kakashi admitted, his body showing the fatigue that Iruka had seen earlier. "But I am sure you understand the circumstances more now." Understand was an understatement, Iruka more than knew the situation now even if it didn't make as much sense as Iruka wished it did.

  
"So, does that mean you will explain it to me more?" Iruka crossed his arms, even though he could hardly keep the worried look off his face.

  
"Let's go back to your room, and I will explain while we wait for the news. I hardly expected a traitor in our ranks." Kakashi sighed, helped Iruka to his feet and then led the way back to the room that Iruka had left suddenly.

"Now tell me, why am I being hunted? I mean, I get that I am one of the Hokages' children, but what does that matter?" Iruka asked as soon as they returned to the room that he started to feel sick of; he was going to be spending a lot of time in there that he knew.

  
"The war that killed your parents came from a fight with a Nine-Tailed Fox of the name, Kurama. That beast killed many of our warriors, and in a desperate attempt, your father sacrificed his life to put that spirit inside you locked away." Kakashi explained, moving his mask off to look Iruka in the face. That Iruka appreciated, considering the type of news that Kakashi was delivering.

  
"Wait, so you are saying that in a way, I caused that war?"

"That isn't what I am saying, you and Kurama are not one, just both of you exist within the same body. You in control of Kurama, and as long as you keep him under control, you may be able to harness that power." Kakashi continued, waving off Iruka's worry and put his head in the palm of his hand. "They are looking for Kurama's power, that or they are trying to destroy you and his power, so you don't prove a threat."

Iruka didn't respond, falling into contemplative silence which Kakashi took as a sign to cover his face again.   
"It is best if you sleep again; I will get someone to watch over you while I also rest for our training." Kakashi got up from his spot, but Iruka grabbed Kakashi's hand, causing him to flinch.

  
"Thank you for saving me again, from everything so far. I won't make you do all the hard work." Iruka told Kakashi, wanting him to know that he wasn't going to let Kakashi take all the punches. He felt more determined after learning about the situation; his mind still carried doubts from it.

"Enough talking, you need rest." Kakashi squeezed his hand out of Iruka's grip, before leaving the room for another ANBU to shortly come in. Iruka sitting there with some hesitance, looking at the ANBU with skepticism due to his previous guard hadn't precisely been trustworthy.  
He laid down though, resting his hands together to be ready if an attack did proceed. His restless mind causing a similar calibre of sleep.

There were no interruptions of his sleep; Iruka waking up early the next morning. His hair having been pulled out of its ponytail through the night, causing it to spread like a spiderweb from his restlessness. Iruka turned over to see that Kakashi had returned, the man put his hand up to acknowledge that Iruka was awake. He sat up slowly, looking over for his hair tie, seeing that it had been lost to the bedsheets.

"You looking for this?" Kakashi went over and held out the tie, which Iruka was more than happy to take and tie his hair up with.

  
"Yes, thank you. Was it on the floor?" Iruka asked with some curiosity in his voice, Kakashi put a finger in front of his mask.

  
"An ANBU doesn't share their knowledge." Iruka could tell that was Kakashi just messing around with him, and it was good to see that slowly he was chipping away at the typical ANBU behaviour.

"Get dressed; I got permission to take you somewhere special." Kakashi turned away once he had decided the joke was over, which was immediately after it was made. Iruka could tell that he wasn't supposed to be making jokes, that wasn't allowed from what Iruka could figure out. He smiled at the thought of seeing somewhere new and got dressed as he was told.


	4. Chapter 4

It always seemed to start the same way, where Iruka was following Kakashi somewhere. It seemed like they were doing it a lot, and it honestly confused him why Kakashi was always so secretive about it. Again, he had a feeling that it was indeed for the best in case someone was listening to them. He hadn't completely recovered from the scare of the previous day, often finding himself unnerved by any noise nearby.

It did reassure him that Kakashi was there, and even though the noises seemed alarming to Iruka, it was clear that Kakashi didn't see them that way. Which meant they were safe for the meantime.

They had made their way out of the town and only seemed to walk further and further in the forest down a trail when Kakashi reared off the track and off into the tree-cover.

"Any explanation or are we going to continue to walk in silence?" Iruka asked, now that they were getting much further away from where they were staying.

"We are going to be trying something new, and we need a better place to practice than the courtyard," Kakashi responded, Iruka being glad that he had received an answer rather than previous other times. Kakashi was already getting better with answering his questions.

"Fair enough."

They soon came to a small clearing surrounded by trees, which littered the area. Kakashi stopped, taking out his hand and a concentrated ball of energy starting to gather in his hand. He clenched it and pressed it against one of the tree trucks which chipped away at it viciously.

"This is Rasengan, a technique that requires chakra control that most ninjas don't have. However, in your case, I feel that would be different. Even if we haven't done much chakra control, you should be able to handle ninjutsu of your father's." Kakashi released the energy, leaving Iruka looking at the tree's damage with shock.

"This will be your goal, but not exactly where we will be starting. There is a lot more to this; something easier that will remind you of our prior training before your asylum days." Kakashi started to walk up the damaged tree, even going upside down to prove the point before crouching on it.

"Surely, you remember this?"

Iruka nodded as it started to come back to him, he was rusty in regards to the technique, but he knew that he would be able to get the hang of it soon enough.

"I'll try it." He whispered, mainly towards himself as he focused his chakra to his feet and then walking the same way as Kakashi while following his example with how fast he did it. Steadying his breathing as he got to the branch that Kakashi was on, before breathing with some nervousness.

"Ha, I wasn't expecting it to come back to me so fast," Iruka admitted, Kakashi seemed shocked from what Iruka could tell as it took him a short while to respond.

"Impressive as always, Iruka. Certainly, the Fourth Hokage's son." Kakashi complimented which put Iruka in a blush; he hadn't expected the comments especially coming from Kakashi who seemed to take no mind to his developments prior.

"Well, you already taught me this. I wouldn't just forget it, that would be disrespectful," Iruka explained himself, even if he had doubted his ability when he had carried out the attempt. He had mainly just been watching Kakashi intensely enough that he had been able to replicate it.

"Then we will have to move once more. Follow me; I won't wait for you." Kakashi told him, before disappearing into the forest. Iruka could see that it was a challenge that Kakashi was providing, and he was thankful for that as he sensed the ANBU's chakra, which he could tell Kakashi was intentionally not hiding.

Iruka lost Kakashi once they had arrived at the river, the ninja's chakra untraceable for him. He looked around quickly, focusing his attention to try to seek out where Kakashi could be. He pressed his fingers together, letting him fall backwards as shuriken came out of the leaves towards him. Iruka crouching on the underside of the tree, smiling from his quick recovery and Kakashi already testing his skills.

He pushed the pride from his mind, focusing on where the shuriken had come from. The tree branch broke savagely in half from the force of Kakashi slamming down on it with the help of his chakra. Iruka had barely jumped off it in time, rolling to spread the impact along his body and using his feet to stop his momentum. Then he remembered that with his new clothes that he was provided conventional weapons to help, pulling a kunai out of his pocket and wrapping explosive tags around them before purposely missing Kakashi.

Iruka didn't believe that he would outsmart Kakashi, but maybe his friend had underestimated what he remembered. With ten years of thinking time, he had their old training he was able to focus on. He made the serpent hand seal to detonate the tags which brought Kakashi down from the tree, them standing across from each other.

"Alright, you proved yourself. You remember more than I thought, let us get back to our lesson." Kakashi waved to show that it was over, turning his back to Iruka, who was still prepared to spar some more. He tried to use a kunai for an attack to his blindside, but Kakashi grabbed his hand and twisted it.

"Don't waste your chakra, you proved yourself as I said."

"You just wanted to end it before I win." Iruka couldn't help feeling a little cocky after he got the edge over Kakashi in the battle, but Kakashi let out a laugh.

"We will have our fair share of spars once you have the Rasengan under your belt, after all, it will be your best weapon." Kakashi let go of Iruka's hand, then led the way back to the river shore to start the next part of their training.

"Are you going to teach me how to swim?" Iruka crossed his arms, Kakashi just shook his head and walked onto the water. Iruka hadn't been taught that he would have remembered being shown how to walk on water.

"Now that is pretty cool, is that seriously just with the help of chakra?" Iruka looked at it with excitement and disbelief, Kakashi nodding in response to his question.

"It takes a different kind of chakra release than your previous training, this one requires you to adjust it according to the water. Now go ahead and try it."

Iruka tried to take the same method as before, having seen Kakashi do it and trying to replicate the same way. That sadly didn't go the way he wanted, falling into the river and then pulling himself out again, soaking wet.

"Take your time. I can wait for you." Kakashi crouched as he watched Iruka continue attempts with little to no luck coming from it.

It continued like that for a good while, Kakashi soon moving off the water to possibly stop Iruka; the man continued to try, despite being soaked to the bone at that point.

"Are you done? We can continue tomorrow." Kakashi asked, the sun falling below the horizon with every attempt. Iruka was breathless, shivering from the water getting colder as the day passed.

"One more try." He swore, finally walking onto the water for a couple of seconds before falling back in. "There! Did it!" Iruka shouted with some pride as he pulled himself out of the water.

"You still fell in."

"Well, by tomorrow, we will be sparring on water." Iruka confidently spoke, wishing to go head-to-head with Kakashi once again.

Kakashi only shook his head. "Alright, noon tomorrow."


End file.
